In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Emily starts running. Soon she runs from her husband, to the airport, down to the Florida Gulf and out to the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key, where her father has offered the use of a conch shack he has kept there for years. Em keeps up her running--barefoot on the beach, sneakers on the road--and sees virtually no one. This is doing her all kinds of good, until one day she makes the mistake of looking a little too closely into the driveway of one of her neighbors--and discovers a secret that he's willing to kill to protect. Emily's curiosity leads her right into the hands of a madman. . .and soon her legs are her only hope for survival.